The role of Recent Pharmacotherapeutic Options on the Management of Treatment Resistant Type 2 Diabetes

The effect of close and intensive therapeutic monitoring of patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes with different glycemic background

Patients with type 2 diabetes who have HbA1c values ≥ 10% have different previous glycemic trends, including new diagnosis of diabetes. We aimed to assess the efficacy of 3 months of intensive and facilitated antihyperglycemic treatment in patients with different glycemic backgrounds. In this observational study, patients with type 2 diabetes and poor glycemic control (indicated by an HbA1c level of > = 10%) were divided into groups based on their previous HbA1c levels (group 1; newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics, group 2; patients with previously controlled but now deteriorated HbA1c levels, group 3; patients whose HbA1c was not previously in the target range but was now above 10%, and group 4; patients whose HbA1c was above 10% from the start). Patients received intensive diabetes management with close monitoring and facilitated hospital visits. For further analysis, patients who were known to have previously had good metabolic control (either did not have diabetes or had previously had an HbA1c value < =7) and patients who had prior poor metabolic control were analyzed separately. Of the 195 participants [female, n = 84 (43.1%)], the median age was 54 years (inter-quantile range [IQR] = 15, min = 29, max = 80) and the median baseline HbA1c was 11.8% (IQR = 2.6%, min = 10%, max = 18.3%). The median duration of diabetes was 10 years (IQR = 9, min = 1, max = 35) when newly diagnosed patients were excluded. The ≥ 20% reduction in HbA1c at month 3 was observed in groups 1 to 4 in 97%, 88.1%, 69.1%, and 55.4%, respectively. The percentage of patients who achieved an HbA1c level of 7% or less was 60.6%, 38.1%, 16.4%, and 6.2% in the groups, respectively. The rate of those who achieved an HbA1c of 7% or less was nearly 50% of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who had previously had good metabolic control, whereas successful control was achieved in only 1 in 10 patients with persistently high HbA1c levels. Patients' glycemic history played an important role in determining their HbA1c levels at 3 months, suggesting that previous glycemic management patterns may indicate future success in diabetes control.

Pharmacological Support for the Treatment of Obesity-Present and Future

Obesity is a growing civilization problem, associated with a number of negative health consequences affecting almost all tissues and organs. Currently, obesity treatment includes lifestyle modifications (including diet and exercise), pharmacologic therapies, and in some clinical situations, bariatric surgery. These treatments seem to be the most effective method supporting the treatment of obesity. However, they are many limitations to the options, both for the practitioners and patients. Often the comorbidities, cost, age of the patient, and even geographic locations may influence the choices. The pharmacotherapy of obesity is a fast-growing market. Currently, we have at our disposal drugs with various mechanisms of action (directly reducing the absorption of calories-orlistat, acting centrally-bupropion with naltrexone, phentermine with topiramate, or multidirectional-liraglutide, dulaglutide, semaglutide). The drugs whose weight-reducing effect is used in the course of the pharmacotherapy of other diseases (e.g., glucose-sodium cotransporter inhibitors, exenatide) are also worth mentioning. The obesity pharmacotherapy is focusing on novel therapeutic agents with improved safety and efficacy profiles. These trends also include an assessment of the usefulness of the weight-reducing properties of the drugs previously used for other diseases. The presented paper is an overview of the studies related to both drugs currently used in the pharmacotherapy of obesity and those undergoing clinical trials, taking into account the individual approach to the patient.